Rail line wrecked by winter storms reopens ahead of Easter holidays
Rail users have hailed the reopening of the track at Dawlish in Devon as "absolutely fantastic" ahead of the Easter holidays.
A 300 strong National Rail team repaired the track over 56 days and nights, where the sea wall and parts of the station were wrecked in February's severe storms.
The coast-hugging line linking Exeter St Davids with Newton Abbot, Plymouth and Penzance had to close, costing the region millions in lost trade.
The work was hampered by another severe storm on the night of February 14 and 15 when monstrous seas battered and damaged the 10-tonne shipping containers forming the temporary sea wall.
Prime Minister David Cameron has declared the south west of England "open for business" again as he visited a town whose storm-wrecked rail line reopened today. Mr Cameron praised the south west as "a wonderful part of the country".
The storm damaged a further 10 to 20 metres of sea wall and more shipping containers had to be moved in.
There were further problems on March 4 when engineers discovered that 20,000 tonnes of cliff face near Teignmouth just south of Dawlish had sheared away above the railway.
This meant stabilisation work had to be done.